Monday Open Line

Yesterday honored mothers, but it also was the 160th birthday of a German-American whose name may not be familiar, but whose invention had a profound impact on the reading habits of all Americans, and indeed, the world. His name was Ottmar Mergenthaler. His invention, the linotype — allowed one person to set type for printing by simply pressing keys on a keyboard — bypassing four different operations at much greater speeds. It was first used in 1886 by the New York Tribune and remained in industry use into the 1980s. By 1890, about 8.4 million Americans read a daily paper. Now that figure is around 40 million. Printing and related support activities engages over 27,000 establishments in an $82 billion a year business. Profile America is in its17th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.

Sunday, May 11th. Today is Mother’s Day — one of the nation’s most revered national observances, with meaning beyond flowers, cards and brunches. The idea started in 1908 with Anna Jarvis of West Virginia, to honor her deceased mother — who had hoped that there would come a day to commemorate all mothers. By 1911, every state observed Mother’s Day, and in 1914, Congress made it a national event. It’s estimated there are over 85 million living mothers across the U.S. In recent years, about 4 million babies are delivered of women between ages 15 and 50. The average age of women giving birth for the first time is just over 25. You can find more facts about America’s people, places and economy, from the American Community Survey, at <www.census.gov>.

Saturday, May 10th. By presidential proclamation, this month recognizes one of the nation’s fastest-growing population groups — those of Asian and Pacific American heritage. The observance began in 1978 with a joint congressional resolution honoring the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants in the 1840s and the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1870 with the help of Chinese immigrants. The occasion was extended to the entire month in 1990. Now, over 20 million people in the U.S. are of Asian or Pacific American heritage, around 6 percent of the total population. California has the largest number of these residents, at over 6 million. Hawaii is the state where Asians make up the highest proportion of the total population at over 56 percent. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at <www.census.gov>